Succumb to the dark and personal fusion of Metalcore, Deathcore, Progressive and Nu Metal by one of the most prominent voices of the Maltese metal scene in her debut solo album.
A few months after leaving her previous band MartYrium due to personal issues with the other band members, Maltese metal goddess Mikaela Attard is unleashing upon humanity under her newborn Metalcore solo project Mikaela her debut opus entitled Nocturne In Red, featuring guitarist and bassist Kyle Farrugia (from Maltese Active Metal band Align the Tide) and drummer Marco Minnemann as her loyal henchmen throughout the entire album. Written and produced by Mikaela herself, and mixed and mastered by Tue Madsen at Antfarm Studio, the pivotal concept behind Nocturne In Red highlights subjects surrounding personal experiences and states of the mind, but according to Mikaela it is up to the listener and viewer to perceive them on how it’s relative to their lives. Not only that, the album also provides an incendiary mixture of Metalcore, Deathcore, Progressive and Nu Metal, and even nuances of Black and Death Metal, all spiced up by Miakela’s native language Maltese carefully added to some of the tracks from the album, being therefore recommended for fans of the music by Pantera, Godsmack, Mastodon and Lamb Of God, among several others.
The cinematic and creepy intro Into a New Hell opens the gates of the underworld for the she-demon Mikaela to stun us all in Bring Me Blood, showcasing darkly poetic lyrics declaimed by Mikaela (“I flew high on black wings when death looked me closer in the eye / I may have pushed up daisies before, I gasped and wanted more / Now, hell came to me to show you what I see / The blade won’t reign on me, you sick fuck, it ends when you can’t breathe”) embraced by the solid fusion of Metalcore and Deathcore blasted by Kyle and Marco. And her insanity in the form of music keeps flowing nonstop in the also heavy and groovy Chaotic Mind, once again presenting psychological lyrics growled by our talented diva (“A whisper of existence / A face wrapped in maleficent greed / Silence even grins at you / Delusion creeps in the lies let lose”), smashing drums by Marco and Groove Metal-inspired riffs and bass punches by Kyle; followed by Disenthralled, highly recommended for fans of the demented music by Slipknot and Jinjer, where Mikaela is on fire with both her violent roars and strident clean vocals, and with the riffage and solos by Kyle sounding even more piercing than before. Then it’s time to break your neck headbanging to the venomous Alternative Metal hymn Nightmare, with Mikaela’s growling ranging from deep guttural to hellish gnarls while Marco brings his dosage of heaviness with his progressive beats.
In Death Dance we face more of Kyle’s metallic, rumbling bass jabs accompanied by Marco’s smashing drums and the mesmerizing vocals by Mikaela, blending elements from Metalcore with Melodic Death and Groove Metal, albeit going on for a bit too long, though, whereas Abyss is a piano-infused dark ballad by Mikaela where the sharp guitars by Kyle walk hand in hand with her passionate vocal performance, sounding very personal, epic and obscure from start to finish and presenting a unique and captivating side of our banshee. Back to her beastly she-wolf mode, our dauntless diva of darkness and her henchmen will penetrate deep inside our psyche once again with the Metalcore extravaganza titled Enthalpy Rage, feeling like an electrifying fusion of the current music played by Arch Enemy with modern-day Deathcore, while Ophidian’s Whisper is another solid composition by the trio with Marco dictating the pace with his infernal and intricate drumming, and with Mikaela once again alternating between demonic screams and melodious clean lines. And lastly, we’re treated to a sinister atmosphere embellished by a melancholic piano and the gorgeous voice by Mikaela, morphing into one final metal attack titled Room Hell, with both Marco and Kyle being on absolute fire with their sonic weapons, providing all Mikaela needs to shine on vocals and, consequently, ending the album in a truly devilish way.
Mikaela’s musical journey to hell and back can be appreciated in its entirety on Spotify and on Deezer, but of course you should purchase a copy of such amazing album of modern-day Metalcore from her own webstore, from Apple Music or from Amazon, also showing your support to one of Malta’s most prominent names in metal music by following her on Facebook and on Instagram, and by subscribing to her YouTube channel for more of her darkly enchanting official videos. Nocturne In Red is a very personal album by Mikaela that will undoubtedly please all fans of Metalcore, Deathcore and all related styles, showing us all the darkest side of such talented artist while at the same time adding the charming Republic of Malta to the worldwide map of contemporary metal music.
Best moments of the album: Bring Me Blood, Disenthralled and Enthalpy Rage.
Worst moments of the album:Death Dance.
Released in 2020 Independent
Track listing 1. Into a New Hell – Intro 2:29
2. Bring Me Blood 4:25
3. Chaotic Mind 4:35
4. Disenthralled 5:44
5. Nightmare 6:37
6. Death Dance 6:20
7. Abyss 4:56
8. Enthalpy Rage 4:41
9. Ophidian’s Whisper 5:23
10. Room Hell 5:00
Guitarist Andreas Nieratschker, from Germany-based act Agony Atlas, joins us for an exclusive interview about their new EP Retrogression Part I: Egomania, the metal scene in his homeland, the future of the band (and of the entire world), and more.
Andreas Nieratschker (Agony Atlas)
The Headbanging Moose: Thanks for taking the time to talk to us about the music by Agony Atlas. Can you please start by introducing yourself to our readers? Who Agony Atlas and what are your goals with the band?
Andreas Nieratschker: One could say, we are a four-person sonically chaotic gathering of people that is actually not that chaotic…
Christoph e.g., my companion on the guitar, is particularly good at collecting tattoos and being a caring father. He simply is our savior when it comes to organising whatsoever. Well actually, everyone is, except Liane and myself (laughter). Organisationally, I mean.
Markus plays like Thor’s hammer when he’s out on his drums. You can feel the concentrated power of the gods, although you hardly see it. – Absolutely smooth playing. Above all, he manages everything when it comes to texting and working towards our famosity.
Liane just has a brute voice, which has impressed me since the first rehearsal of our other band, where we used to play together. I just thought “THIS is the voice I want!”
Well, yeah and I am Andreas.
Together we decided to travel back in time to prevent humanity from its own extinction and to enlighten them about the fucked-up conditions the human kind exposes to our planet. At least, this is the short version behind our story.
THM: Your music is being labeled by fans and the media as “Progressive Metalcore”. Do you agree with that classification, and if so, how would you personally describe it? What other genres and styles can the listener expect to hear in your music?
AN: It’s almost always hard to pinpoint the band’s genre. But I think besides many different influences the term “Progressive Metalcore” describes our music best. Although the progressive part is not extremely present yet, but you will hear more of it in the future songs. Speaking in genres: you can find melodic death metal and metalcore, djent, electro, industrial and thrash metal and sometimes even a hint of black metal.
THM: You have just released your debut EP, titled Retrogression Part I: Egomania. Can you please give us more details about it? What’s the story behind the EP, and what can we expect to see in “the next chapter”, assuming this is just the first part of something bigger the band is planning?
AN: Actually, we don’t have a concrete concept for the EP. It is rather based on the general idea we are pursuing with Agony Atlas. The other publications will lead along this common thread and complement our story.
For a while now, environmental movements have been causing enormous discussions in society. The behavior of people towards one another, towards our living space and towards the world in its entirety has become an important and recurring topic. Now is the latest time for a final change to save our whole future. And that’s exactly what we want to tell with our background story: The time travel from the already destroyed future back to the here and now, to save what can be saved. “Retrogression” stands for the development that we want to prevent – from a future perspective, to a certain extent, for a regression. Therefore we chose the title. We are playing our part in not waking up in a dystopian world, like Mad Max, in the near future. So, we will continue our guiding idea and stick to the band concept.
THM: Let’s now talk about each one of the songs from the EP, starting with the opening track Economy Class, which carries a name that couldn’t be more relevant these days. Can you please elaborate a little more on the meaning of the song and why you’ve chosen such important topic as its main theme?
AN: As I said, the environmental issues are very important. In the EP, we address some of the current problems people have in this regard, such as consuming, digitally induced comfort and an egocentric worldview. The concrete events for the song “Economy Class” were the man-made rainforest fires at the beginning of 2019.
THM: What about Egomania, my favorite song of the EP? What was the process to write and compose this song, and what should the listener take from the music and the lyrics while listening to it?
AN: The irrepressible greed of the people has made them look for another “habitable” or, as I’d like to say, “exploitable” planet for years. Earth alone is apparently not enough. Although it is and was more than sufficient for the remaining living beings. However, because of our curiosity, which we take as a given condition of superiority and as unique selling point of the human kind, it seems that we want to take everything – regardless of the losses.
The song should not only serve through unbelievably good acoustic satisfaction, but also stimulate everyone to reflect one’s own behavior and to question society.
Album Review – Agony Atlas / Retrogression Part I: Egomania EP (2020)
THM: Lastly, the closing song in Retrogression Part I: Egomania, Hymn Of Hatred, is undoubtedly the heaviest and most obscure of all three songs. Why did you decide to end the EP with such dark composition?
AN: For us it’s the most forward moving song. It forges a smooth transition to what the listener can expect in the future. “Hymn Of Hatred” is the newest song on the EP and rather reflects our songwriting. Last but not least: the fact is that future doesn’t look bright, if we don’t act now.
THM: How is it to be fronted by such talented woman like Liane Walter, who certainly makes your music appeal to fans of bands like Arch Enemy and Jinjer? How do you see the importance of women in metal music nowadays, and do you see any type of rejection from fans for having a woman as your lead singer?
AN: The question could also be: What is it like to have such a good vocalist? It’s not about gender, but about skills, human interaction, commitment, creativeness and fun.
By now it should rather be normal to see and hear women in the metal genre. There are already a few more bands than Arch Enemy and Jinjer who sing gutturally in the low frequency range. I haven’t heard of any rejections for now. But in any case, I’m a huge fan of her singing, especially while being in the same band.
THM: Changing the topic a bit, what are your main influences in music and arts in general? And how do you incorporate those influences into the music by Agony Atlas?
AN: I can hardly say where all the inspiration comes from. Christoph, for example, takes part in local cultural associations, plays also in his alternative rock band Karabooza and is involved as guitar sub in a carnival rock band. Furthermore, Markus and I are involved in the jazz genre and beyond. And with Liane, I can only guess, but it seems like she started screaming since birth. Over the years of practicing she must be influenced by all kinds of stuff. But who can really tell? Maybe it can be compared with ideas which are formed by words to be explained. I assume, it’s the same with music. The inspiration comes from memories, visions and random synapse formations, which pop up in your mind. And if you listen closely, you can repeat them to write them down.
If you want to know what everybody of us is listening to, just take a look on our Spotify page. There you can find a playlist of each one of us.
Agony Atlas
THM: We all know the Germany metal scene is extremely vibrant with some of the best metal fans in the world, which probably means there’s more room for underground acts like Agony Atlas to play their music to live audiences there, right? Have you been able to start touring around Germany (and any other countries) with Agony Atlas already, or is the pandemic still impacting your touring plans?
AN: Standing in the starting blocks, we slipped straight into the corona pandemic and the light has not yet jumped from red to green. Well, we just recently formed up, therefore we use the unexpected waiting time to prepare ourselves sensibly with concentrated power to play in front of a trembling audience. At least now we will have an encore in petto.
THM: What does the future hold for Agony Atlas? Can we expect to see more of your heavy and melodic music in a not-so-distant future?
AN: Yes, definitely! We are already busy in the process for the next release. Five new songs are ready for recording and more are on the way. Hopefully, we’ll get them on the road in 2021.
THM: Thank you very much for the interview! Any final considerations or comments you would like to share with our readers?
AN: Thank you for the opportunity. Listen to our songs and start to change the world! Everybody has an impact to make a difference.
My dear metalheads, how about we celebrate SEVEN FUCKIN’ YEARS of The Headbanging Moose in great fashion with one of the most charismatic, hardworking and talented growlers of the current metal scene? Not only she will haunt your soul with her wicked screams and roars, but she’s also a stunning alternative model and a collaborator of one of the best metal magazines in her home country. I’m talking about the venomous she-wolf Rocío Vázquez, better known by her incendiary moniker Diva Satanica, the frontwoman for Spanish Melodic Death Metal band Bloodhunter and more recently for the international all-female Thrash Metal horde Nervosa, kicking some serious ass with her onstage performance and her beyond potent vocals wherever she goes. Are you ready to have Diva Satanica screaming like a beast right in your face on our humble tribute to such amazing exponent of the Spanish Extreme Metal scene?
Born on June 25, 1988 in La Coruña, Galícia, in the North-West of Spain, known as “the land of witches”, but currently residing in Madrid, the capital city of Spain, Diva Satanica is a lover of all kinds of music, but of course she nurtures a special, deep passion for Rock N’ Roll and almost all subgenres of Heavy Metal, especially the ones that suit her needs of talking about feelings. As mentioned by our unstoppable diva in one of her interviews, no one in her family enjoys metal music and in the beginning it was really hard for her to find friends with the same taste in music, but she managed to find her place in society as we can all witness now. In addition, although she said she was terrified the first time she listened to a Death Metal band, due to the fact she didn’t feel comfortable with melodic singing she decided to give growling a try, and well, we must all agree it was the best decision in her life, offering us all fans of heavy music the furious and thrilling creations brought forth by our diva together with her henchmen from Bloodhunter.
In regards to Bloodhunter, the band started about a year before Diva Satanica joined them, more specifically in 2008 in La Coruña (but also currently based in Madrid), by the hands of sole founding member, guitarist and main songwriter Dani Arcos, also known as Fenris, to develop some demos that didn’t fit at his other bands at that time, even with a melodic singer in the beginning. It was after several changes in their lineup and concept when Diva Satanica finally joined the band, currently comprised of our metal lady and Fenris, of course, together with guitarist G. Starless, bassist Daniel Luces and drummer Marcelo Aires. However, she only started singing (and growling) for the band in 2012, after writing the lyrics for a few of their songs and joining their rehearsals, and according to Diva Satanica her bandmates had to be very patient with her in the beginning as she used to sing looking to the wall instead of looking to the band, but from that moment on things started to happen for them, culminating with the release of their debut demo The First Insurrection, in 2013.
It was just a matter of time until the release of their debut full-length opus, self-titled Bloodhunter, which came to light in 2014 and quickly made a huge impact on the local Spanish scene, gathering the attention of fans and critics not only in Spain but anywhere else in the world where high-quality Melodic Death Metal is appreciated. A couple of years later, in 2017, the band released their sophomore effort, titled The End of Faith, showcasing a huge evolution in terms of sound quality, creativity, violence and, above all, in Diva Satanica’s guttural vocals, presenting a much more demonic, piercing and thrilling side of our devilish banshee. Apart from their two studio albums, Bloodhunter also released a couple of singles through the years, those being Ages of Darkness, in 2014, which was featured on a compilation called Oráculo Magazine: From the Shadows Vol.I, and a very entertaining cover version for Helloween’s all-time classic I Want Out, in 2018, where Diva Satanica shares the vocal duties with Spanish vocalist and guitarist Leo Jiménez, known for his solo band and other projects such as Stravaganzza and Saratoga. In addition to that, Bloodhunter also offered us fans a few more amazing cover songs, with their version for Arch Enemy’s hit Bury Me an Angel, featured on a compilation called Hardcore Hits Cancer Vol. III in 2018, Death’s Crystal Mountain, and more recently their rendition for Cradle of Filth’s demolishing tune Gilded Cunt, showing all of our diva’s versatility and range as the fantastic Extreme Metal singer she is.
Apart from those albums, singles and cover songs, you can also have a blast with Diva Satanica and the boys in their excellent 2020 live album Live in Madrid, containing six amazing live versions recorded on March 19, 2019 at the now (unfortunately) defunct We Rock in Madrid, including Dying Sun, All These Souls Shall Serve… Forever!, and Bring me Horror. Furthermore, you can find other non-official live footage from Bloodhunter on YouTube, such as for example Ancestors Ov All Gods also live at We Rock, but in 2015, The Bloody Throne live at Mangualde Hard Metal Fest 2017, and Eyes Wide Open live at Le Club in La Coruña in 2018, among many, many others. However, if you prefer watching official videos with all the usual production, special effects and other shenanigans, you can bang your head to the songs All These Souls Shall Serve… Forever!, Dying Sun, Embrace the Dark Light and Let the Storm Come.
As we don’t have anything official yet with Diva Satanica fronting the thrashing girls from Nervosa except for a live chat done in June 2020 with the “four horsewomen”, Brazilian guitarist and founder Prika Amaral, Italian bassist Mia Wallace (The true Endless, Triumph of Death, Niryth, Abbath), Greek drummer Eleni Nota (Lightfold, Mask of Prospero, Simplefast) and of course our beloved Diva Satanica, let’s talk a little about her previous bands, projects and special appearances in an array of bands from the most diverse styles, starting with a band she fronted from 2015 until 2019, Spanish Progressive/Melodic Death Metal/Metalcore band Outreach. Despite her short stint with Outreach, she recorded with the band the full-length Ephemeral Existence and the single Insane Mind, both in 2019, showcasing all her range and potency throughout the entire album (which I highly recommended you take a listen at).
You’ll also be able to enjoy her she-wolf roars in the songs Nothing to Believe, from the 2018 album Misanthropy, by El Salvadorian Thrash/Death Metal band Apes of God; Mutiladora Genital, from Spanish Death Metal masters Aposento’s 2014 self-titled album; Darkness Within, from the 2018 album Purgatory, by Spanish Melodic Death Metal band Suru; doing additional vocals in the entire album Mesías, released in 2019 by Spanish Heavy Metal band Leo Jiménez; impersonating the one and only Baphomet in the 2019 album El Secreto de los Templarios, by Spanish Heavy Metal/Hard Rock band Legado de una Tragedia, together with soprano Nancy Catalina and Sara Grün from Hiranya (and you can enjoy this nice making of with an explanation as to why those three vocalists were chosen for the part); and last but not least, doing additional and choir vocals in the songs La Cantiga de las Brujas (check also this amazing live version of the same song) and El Séptimo Sello, from the 2019 album Ira Dei, by Spanish Celtic/Folk Metal institution Mägo de Oz.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Such multi-talented metal diva would obviously have tons of distinguished influences in her style and career, and despite the fact that her moniker was clearly inspired by one of the best Arch Enemy songs of all time, Diva Satanica, and that most fans tried to label them as the Spanish version of Arch Enemy in the beginning, the members of Bloodhunter have many different influences in their musical careers, from Judas Priest to Behemoth and Death. When asked about her own personal favorites, Diva Satanica mentioned bands and artists the likes of Astarte, Eths, In This Moment, Skullfist, Behemoth, Axewound, Rotting Christ, Nightrage, Firewind and Lana del Rey, showing she enjoys any type of music, not only rock and metal, but also saying that it’s in Extreme Metal where she found her identity when singing. If you know Spanish and want to spend some time with Diva Satanica and her collection of metal and non-metal albums, you should definitely watch this video on YouTube, where she presents some of her favorite albums from bands and artists like Jimi Hendrix, Ramones, Bon Jovi, Guns N’ Roses, Skid Row, Alice In Chains, Firewind, Rotting Chirst, The Agonist and Eths. Regarding French metalcore band Eths, she mentioned in one of her interviews that the amazing Candice Clot, former frontwoman for what’s in my opinion one of the most underrated metal bands of all time, was essential in her decision to become an extreme music vocalist. In addition, you can enjoy Diva Satanica paying her own personal tribute to some of her biggest idols on her own YouTube channel, including her vocal performances of Septicflesh’s Prototype, Holy Moses’ Triggered, Behemoth’s Ov Fire And The Void, and a very unique version for Slayer’s darkest hit Raining Blood together with Spanish rock and metal cover band Femme Fractal.
As we’re talking about women in rock and metal, Diva Satanica complemented her thoughts by saying that apart from Candice Clot (and Diva Satanica even said that when Candice left Eths she was offered to audition, but she had to refuse it as she was barely 20 years old and had no means to travel nor the equipment to record with), she also loves the music by In This Moment, Jinjer and a Spanish underground band named Bones of Minerva, which I highly recommend you go check their music on their BandCamp page. In addition, she mentioned in one of her interviews that the song The Queen Beast is dedicated to Maria “Tristessa” Kolokouri from Greek Black Metal horde Astarte, one of her main influences and a good friend that sadly passed away in 2014 due to complications from leukemia, saying she was the first woman to create the first Black Metal band formed only by women, and we can easily see that beautiful tribute Diva Satanica paid to Tristessa in the song’s amazing lyrics (“Feel her wrath / She’s watching from the stars / Abstraction of life / The air, the nature, the skies are now her reign / The shades in darkened silverlights / The black flame burns! / The highest priestess arise”).
If you think it was easy for Diva Satanica to reach her current vocal style and growth as an Extreme Metal vocalist, she said her path so far has demanded (and will always demand) from her a lot of hard work, discipline and trial and error, acknowledging that she couldn’t sing properly on the band’s first album as she didn’t know exactly what she was doing nor she could sustain her vocals for long periods of time. It was only after watching several tutorials on YouTube , after consulting with different extreme music singers and after studying in detail the performances of all vocalists of the concerts she attended that she properly began shaping her voice, spending about two years improving her technique, even taking melodic singing classes at a given point in her life, and applying necessary warmup and diaphragm strengthening exercises to improve her performance. Then she said that because she started her “Extreme Vocal Lessons” to help other growlers to improve their vocals in the early stages of their careers, she ended up discovering different vocal types and ranges that she considered great choices to incorporate to her own style. If you want to take a peak at some of her videos where she gives important tips for growlers like her, you can watch this tutorial (also in Spanish) where she teaches how to do guttural and screaming vocals, and also this short lesson where she explains the difference between growls and screams versus grunts, pig squeals, shrieks and other vocalizations. One thing that is quite annoying to Diva Satanica is when people use gender to justify why women can’t growl, with her solution to that simply being inviting those people to watch Bloodhunter live, which in my opinion is indeed an amazing experience for the non-believers who will undoubtedly be stunned by her vicious roars.
When asked about the current metal scene in Galicia, where she comes from, and if her music and Death Metal are well-received by the people from that region in Northwest Spain, she said that although they’re a small community there are different styles that people tend to listen to the most from time to time. Around a decade ago, the Gothic scene was the most prevalent, switching to Alternative Metal and Metalcore in recent years. She also mentioned the importance of their own summer festival, Resurrection Fest, which started years ago as a small act but that it’s now one of the most important festival in Europe, proving the scene in Galicia is in excellent shape. As you might have noticed already, Diva Satanica loves performing on stage, and among her favorite songs to play live she mentioned some of her band’s most violent creations such as Let the Storm Come, Possessed by Myself and of course The Queen Beast, as already mentioned, as this song has a strong meaning for her and helps her add an extra amount of emotional feeling to her singing.
Not only an accomplished vocalist, Diva Satanica has also done some modeling in the past and contributed as a writer and journalist to a couple of magazines, including La Heavy, one of the biggest rock and metal publication in Spain, managed by the website Mariskal Rock. She said she started her modeling career a few years ago, but as she discovered a lot of people are interested in many different things other than art, she gave up and decided to focus on the metal scene, starting with a Greek webzine named Subexistance Music Production and then moving on to La Heavy. Apart from that, she’s also working towards a Degree as a Doctor in Nursery, and was a participant in the Spanish TV program La Voz (the Spanish version of The Voice) in 2017, surprising the coaches by screaming and growling instead of only doing clean vocals, being the first contestant to perform this type of singing. The international artist Juanes chose her to be part of his team, where she performed songs like Eurythmics’ Sweet Dreams, Survivor’s Eye of the Tiger and Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance. There’s even an interview she gave to a guy named Juan Destroyer on Mariskal Rock TV where she talks about her participation on the show, and how she inspired Juanes to get back on doing a heavier kind of rock. Moreover, she always mentions that being on La Voz was one of the best experiences of her life without any doubt, saying that as she was the first even participant to do guttural, she got a lot of recognition from fans and bands from all over the world, with icons such as Michael Amott of Arch Enemy or Christos Antoniou of Septicflesh congratulating her for her amazing performance on the show.
Our dauntless diva also mentioned that there’s still a long road ahead of all musicians that dedicate their careers to more extreme styles of rock and metal, as there’s still a lot of prejudice everywhere (saying that even today in Madrid she has to cover her tattoos depending on the situation), but that it’s up to the musicians themselves to make their style more accepted by society, and that the more musicians bring their experience to light and defend their identity, the more the road will open up. As you can see, Diva Satanica is not only extremely talented and focused on her career, but she also has a strong opinion about the current state of the metal scene and about what any person needs to do to thrive in the music industry. Hence, you can check some extra interviews with this amazing Spanish she-wolf on YouTube, such as this one where she shares the latest update on both Bloodhunter and Nervosa, the current coronavirus pandemic situation and more, or this one to a show called “That Metal Interview with James”, recorded in June 2020, where she speaks of how she met Prika Amaral of Nervosa and how she was approached to join the Brazilian death metallers, about her experience being on the TV show La Voz, and about the future plans of both Bloodhunter and Nervosa regarding their musical direction for their next records. You’ll notice from all those interviews and from her music that Rocío Vázquez is more than just another vocalist; she’s a very humble and gentle human being, a hardworking musician, and a fulminating growler. Having said that, all that’s left to say is… ALL HAIL THE ONE AND ONLY DIVA SATANICA!
“Sometimes it’s not easy, sometimes you feel scared and things don’t go as you planned before, but you must keep on fighting to discover what you want in your life and who you are.” – Diva Satanica
After taking their first step to hell, it’s time for those Swiss metallers to stun us all with their sophomore album, showcasing a thrilling fusion of Metalcore and Nu Metal with a theatrical twist.
Founded in 2018 by Loïc Duruz and Valery Veings, both former guitarists of Symphonic Metal band Elferya, the up-and-coming Lausanne, Switzerland-based Metalcore act Chaoseum is back in action in 2020 with their sophomore album entitled Second Life, presenting the band’s trademark amalgamation of styles including Metalcore, Power Crossover and Nu Metal, among others. Recorded at both Chaos Studio and Conatus Studios, mixed by Gwen Kerjan from Slab Sound Studio, and featuring a beautiful artwork by Brazilian artist Gustavo Sazes, Second Life brings forward a new (and more theatrical) era in the career of Chaoseum, with its 11 original compositions thoroughly crafted by Loïc and Valery together with fontman CK Smile and drummer Greg Turini appealing to all fans of the modern metal music played by bands such as Lacuna Coil, Korn, Trivium, Killswitch Engage and Slipknot, among others.
The creepy, cinematic intro XXV-IX-MMXX (or September 15, 2020, the official release date of the album) will send shivers down your spine before the quartet comes crushing with their vicious Metalcore in Hell Has No Way Out, with Greg sounding like a machine gun on drums while Loïc and Valery fire melodious riffs for our total delight and CK roars and sings with tons of anguish. The melodic and aggressive title-track Second Life starts in an atmospheric way before exploding into a visceral fusion of Metalcore and Melodic Death Metal, with the rumbling sounds of the bass by Loïc punching us hard in the head, followed by Into My Split, a fulminating Alternative Metal tune tailored for banging our heads nonstop or simply enjoying the gentle guitars and beats by the band, all spiced up by CK’s introspective performance. Then we have the excellent Smile Again, clearly inspired by Nu Metal masters Korn, with CK doing his best Jonathan Davis impersonation while Loïc and Valery keep delivering pure metallic lines through their riffs and bass punches; whereas it’s time to speed things up and offer the listener the sinister and alternative Scream, with Loïc, Valery and Greg bringing tons of progressiveness to their wicked sonority, and with its futuristic and modern vibe being all CK needs to shine on vocals.
Stick Under My Skin is another song with a cryptic, mesmerizing intro, evolving into a feast of Alternative, Groove and Progressive Metal where CK’s clean and harsh vocals are nicely supported by his bandmates’ backing vocals, while Burn My Eyes is a solid rock and metal creation by Chaoseum, albeit a bit generic if compared to the rest of the album, with both Loïc and Valery doing a great job with their flammable guitars. And you better get ready as there’s still a lot more of the music by Chaoseum, starting with Feel, a modern, industrialized party perfect for their live performances where the quartet enhances their rage, punch and insanity. Put differently, this is a heavier version of traditional Alternative Metal led by the classic beats by Greg, while things can’t get more alternative nor groovier than in Sex In Hell, a suggestive song name that matches perfectly with the heavy but sexy music played by the band, resulting in a dark ballad where CK steals the spotlight with his devilish vocals. Lastly, there’s more of their groovy bass punches and rhythmic beats intertwined with futuristic background elements and the raspy vocals by CK in Frozen, a song which fans of Korn, Lacuna Coil and other modern metal bands will surely love.
In a nutshell, it doesn’t matter if you’re a longtime fan of Alternative and Nu Metal or if you’re taking your first steps in this more modern side of heavy music, you should definitely add Second Life to your daily playlist (and you can do so by streaming the album in full on Spotify). Chaoseum put their hearts and souls into the making of their new opus, and you can sense that passion and hard work in each and every track of the album, proving those Swiss metallers are o the right path to stardom. Hence, don’t forget to show them your support by following them on Facebook and on Instagram, by subscribing to their YouTube channel and, above all that, by purchasing their new album from their own BandCamp page or webstore (where you can by the way find tons of ass-kicking merch as well), from Apple Music or from Amazon. Chaoseum’s “first step to hell” was already solid and vibrant, but it’s under this new era, or maybe I should call it their “second life”, that the band is ready to show the world what their music is all about.
Best moments of the album: Hell Has No Way Out, Scream and Stick Under My Skin.
Worst moments of the album:Burn My Eyes.
Released in 2020 Independent
Track listing 1. XXV-IX-MMXX 0:58
2. Hell Has No Way Out 4:07
3. Second Life 4:18
4. Into My Split 4:18
5. Smile Again 4:27
6. Scream 3:38
7. Stick Under My Skin 4:51
8. Burn My Eyes 3:31
9. Feel 4:39
10. Sex In Hell 5:41
11. Frozen 4:41
Band members
CK Smile – vocals
Loïc Duruz – guitars, bass
Valery Veings – guitars
Greg Turini – drums
Bang you head to the debut EP by this newborn German band, combining elements of Melodic Death Metal, Metalcore and Groove Metal in their thrilling compositions.
Formed in 2019 in Koblenz, a German city on the banks of the Rhine and of the Moselle, a multi-nation tributary, female-fronted Progressive Metalcore unity Agony Atlas is ready to take the world of heavy music by storm with their debut EP entitled Retrogression Part I: Egomania, featuring three original tracks combining elements of Arch Enemy, Jinjer and Architects, among other renowned acts. Mixed and mastered by Aljoscha Sieg at Pitchback Studios, with vocals recorded at Airstream Studio Koblenz, and showcasing a modern logo designed by Jan Hilken, Retrogression Part I: Egomania might be really short in duration, with only 11 minutes of music, but that’s more than enough to prove frontwoman Liane Walter, guitarists Christoph “Smi” Fuchs and Andreas Nieratschker, and drummer Markus Möwis are on the right path to stardom, bringing forward all of their talent, hard work and passion for heavy music in their newborn spawn.
Just hit play and futuristic sounds will permeate the air in the Groove Metal feast titled Economy Class, where Christoph and Andreas extract metallic, austere sounds from their guitars nonstop, offering Liane all she needs to thrive with her enraged roars. Then you better get ready for another round of their fusion of Melodic Death Metal and Metalcore with modernized sounds in Egomania, where we’re all inspired to bang our heads to the crushing drums by Markus, living up to the legacy of the genre and, of course, with Liane once again sounding infernal with her she-demon screams. And last but not least, closing such short but extremely fun EP it’s time to jump up and down with Liane and the boys in Hymn Of Hatred, with the band’s guitar duo being in total sync with the blast beats by Markus, while the song’s lyrics exhale anger, hatred and obscurity, just the way we like it in extreme music.
Although Retrogression Part I: Egomania might represent only the very first step in the career of Agony Atlas, they already sound like true veterans throughout the entire EP, again pointing to a bright future ahead of them anywhere their music takes them. Hence, don’t forget to follow the band on Facebook and on Instagram, to subscribe to their YouTube channel, to listen to their creations on Spotify, and obviously to purchase the EP (as well as other high-quality merch) from their own webstore, and soon from other retailers such as Apple Music and Amazon. As the name of the album already says, Retrogression Part I: Egomania is just the first part of something bigger Agony Atlas are planning on unleashing upon us sooner than later, and I can’t wait to see what’s next in the career of those German metallers based on the amazing music found in their debut effort.
Best moments of the album: Egomania.
Worst moments of the album: None.
Released in 2020 Independent
Track listing 1. Economy Class 3:25
2. Egomania 4:31
3. Hymn Of Hatred 3:28
Band members
Liane Walter – vocals
Christoph “Smi” Fuchs – guitars, keys
Andreas Nieratschker – guitars
Markus Möwis – drums
Before even starting this tribute to our metal chick of the month of July, let me just say her life is pretty much an open book. I mean, you can find pretty much anything about her online, and what you’re about to read might not be a surprise for you at all. However, that doesn’t mean she doesn’t deserve to be featured on our webzine, as she’s not only extremely talented and passionate for heavy music, but she’s also a hardworking metalhead that never stops creating top-of-the-line music and videos for the delight of hundreds of thousands of metalheads from all over the world. Not only that, apart from her life in Heavy Metal she’s also a model and a makeup artist, proving her success, respect and admiration from her fans are not in vain. I’m talking about the unstoppable Moldovan vocalist Lena Scissorhands, the ravishing frontwoman for an up-and-coming Alternative and Nu Metal act that goes by the classy name of Infected Rain. Having said that, are you ready to be “infected” by Lena’s charisma and electricity here on The Headbanging Moose?
Born on November 22, 1986 in Chișinău, also known as Kishinev, the capital and largest city of the Republic of Moldova, nestled between Ukraine and Romania in Eastern Europe, Lena Scissorhands, whose real name is Elena Kataraga, fell in love with alternative music when she was 13 years old, although her real “crush” for metal music happened when she was 14 as she got simply mesmerized by the energy flowing from the sound of heavy guitar riffs and the brutality from harsh, guttural vocals. Due to her poor beginnings in Moldova, life was quite challenging for Lena and her family, forcing her to start working at a very young age to support her parents (who were very young when they had Lena) and her two younger sisters, with whom she mentioned she used to share her clothes and eat whatever was available (as well as pretend to be the Powerpuff Girls with them to lighten things up a bit). Looking on the bright side of life, those tough early days turned Lena into a very strong woman, always eager to achieve more through her work and always ready to provide help to the ones in need.
Currently residing in Las Vegas, Nevada, in the United States, Lena mentioned in one of her interviews that the idea that the “Sin City” is a weird place bursting with people from all over the world only works if you’re a visitor, as living there is a complete different thing. She said if you live in Vegas you’re not really that much in contact with that lifestyle, unless of course that’s part of your job, but living there is pretty quiet due to the city’s remote location. Furthermore, apart from her current life in Vegas, Lena has also lived in different European countries, which kind of explains why she’s fluent in four languages, those being Russian, Romanian, English and Italian. “I’m very proud to speak all these four languages, and unfortunately I used to speak another language fluently. When I was a child, I used to live in Armenia, and I used to know Armenian like I know English – very, very well. I lived there for many years. But unfortunately, because of different life changing and living in different countries, and I was not in touch with my father because my parents separated and stuff like that, so I didn’t really use it. And a language, you lose it when you don’t use it. I do understand a little bit, and I can say a few things, but that’s it. So I don’t even consider that,” said Lena, who also explained she writes all her lyrics in English as the language became very natural to her, especially when she was attending university, although she actually started writing lyrics in Russian when she was a teenager at the age of 14.
It’s time to get down to business and start talking about Lena’s life with her awesome band Infected Rain, the band she started over ten years ago together with guitarist Vidick and Dj Kapa. At first, Lena said she didn’t know if she would be able to sing in a band in a professional way, but with the support from her bandmates and after starting taking vocal lessons with Tatiana Robertovna, with whom Lena learned how to breathe, how to feel the music and how to sing, Infected Rain became her number one priority and her reason to live. Formed in 2008 in her hometown Chișinău, Infected Rain combine a wide variety of styles such as Alternative, Death and Nu Metal with Metalcore and even elements from electronic music in an infectious sound, having already released a self-titled demo in 2008, the EP Judgemental Trap in 2009, and four full-length albums, those being Asylum (2011), Embrace Eternity (2014), 86 (2017) and more recently the excellent Endorphin (2019), showcasing all the power and versatility of the band currently comprised of our metal goddess Lena and her henchmen Vidick and Sergey on the guitars, Vladimir on bass and Eugene on drums. There are several official videos on YouTube for some of the best creations by Infected Rain, such as Me Against You, Mold, Stop Waiting, At The Bottom Of The Bottle, Serendipity, Enslaved By A Dream, a kick-ass cover version for Slayer’s Stain Of Mind, Judgemental Trap, Sweet, Sweet Lies, Fool The Gravity, Intoxicating, Orphan Soul, the absolutely stunning The Earth Mantra, Storm, Lure and Passerby, or you can also go to their official website or Big Cartel page to purchase their albums and some pretty cool merch.
Before signing with Napalm Records in 2019, Lena and the boys used to manage Infected Rain by themselves for around 10 years, booking their own concerts, taking care of all agreements and duties of a regular manager and so on, facing tons of challenges and hassles along the way. In one of her interviews, she mentioned that one of the biggest obstacles for Infected Rain during those years were promoters and booking agencies that didn’t want to work with them simply because they were independent, thinking they were a difficult band and that’s the reason why they were independent, when the only reason for that was the fact they came from a poor country with no possibilities at all. Having said that, why not enjoying a full performance by Infected Rain from their independent years, more specifically from their 2016 incendiary performance at Rockstadt Extreme Fest or from their 2017 concert at Club Thing in Germany? In addition, simply check this video titled “10 questions with Lena Scissorhands | Infected Rain” to know a little more about Lena and the band.
Apart from her life with Infected Rain, you can also find our multi-talented artist on a few other distinguished bands and projects, showcasing all her skills as a musician and her passion for music in general. For instance, she has been doing some singing during the live performances for a Moldovan Progressive Death Metal act called Neuromist since 2010 (although I couldn’t find any online video recording of her with the band), she has recorded a cover version for Russian duo t.A.T.u’s biggest hit All The Things She Said together with LA-based Alternative Rock act Chase The Comet, and also participated in some of the songs by Moldovan Progressive Metal/Rock band Seas on the Moon such as Promise and Hovering. As you can see, singing and playing became Lena’s own type of “drug”, her personal and healthy addiction, inspiring her to exercise and experiment a lot with her voice in different styles. All that work and experimentation would leave her voiceless for days in the beginning, but after starting her vocal lessons with renowned vocal coach Melissa Cross in 2013 everything changed for better in her life and career, allowing Lena to start delivering all the emotions, experiences, fears and disappointments in life from her very personal lyrics on stage without hurting her vocal cords.
As the amazing frontwoman that Lena is, she has obviously been asked a lot of times about how she views the current role and importance of women in heavy music, and what can be done to further enhance their relevance in the scene. However, although feminism and sisterhood in the metal scene are quite popular topics nowadays, she doesn’t consider herself a true feminist. “I know a lot of people expect me to be a little bit more feminist, or to talk more about how awesome it is to be a girl in metal. I really don’t do this big of a difference. I love seeing many girls in metal in general. It’s really cool because it takes dedication and women usually are very busy with their everyday life, with their families, with their kids, and it’s not that easy if you’re a woman, to give up everything. It’s a little bit easier for a man. Maybe. I don’t know,” said Lena, who also thinks that there isn’t a big difference between men and women in metal music, especially due to the fact she grew up in the company of boys in her neighborhood and considered herself very boyish until she was 15 or 16 years old. “I became more feminine later, but that’s it. That’s only the way I look. Inside I’m very fragile, I like being a woman, I like being fragile, I like being loved, I like being taking care of. But trust me, a man can say the same. Men also love to be loved, men also loved to be weak sometimes, and men also have weaknesses and emotions. We have blood, muscles, we are the same! Right? So, I really don’t see a big difference.”
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Lena is unsurprisingly addicted to sports, to touring and to adrenaline, saying she’s disciplined enough to work out at home, backstage or in a hotel room before her concerts. “I love yoga a lot because I become stretched really well. I like building up my body and you know, doing some weights sometimes. I don’t do cardio, because I have very low blood pressure, but at the same time I love hiking, I tried climbing as well, and I like biking a lot,” said Lena, who also mentioned she has a ritual before hitting the stage every show and sometimes even during her days off, requiring between half and a full hour of exercising and a minimum half hour of vocal warm-up, plus another hour to do her makeup, allowing her to feel perfectly prepared, stretched and warmed up prior to each concert. Moreover, Lena’s creations with Infected Rain are all meant to be played live, as according to our talented growler they’re extremely close to reality, expressing exactly what Lena was feeling when writing them, with some songs becoming even stronger during the band’s live performances.
As a huge fan of cartoons and horror flicks, Lena seems to be really into Disney and vampire movies, two completely different things that ended up helping her shape up her own persona quite well. “I became a big Disney nerd at an older age. When I was a kid I grew up in a pretty poor family and we didn’t really watch Disney movies unless they were on TV. So, I would say I really love Lion King because this was my first Disney movie I’ve ever seen and it’s very emotional. I also absolutely love Snow White, because I think it’s just amazing how unique it is, and it was the first cartoon movie that was made so… I also love a lot Alice in Wonderland, because I’m a big fan of the book as well, and I really like how unique the movie is, but still – you know – having the lot from the book… I can go on and on like this forever and ever. There are so many good ones,” commented Lena, who also said in one of her interviews that as she grew up with the tales of Dracula, she loves every type of vampire movie ever made, even lower budget productions or comedies about vampires, complementing by saying that she has also been watching a lot of zombie movies, that she has already gone through all the Halloween and Friday the 13th franchises, and that now she wants to watch all the Resident Evil and A Nightmare on Elm Street movies as well.
As already mentioned, Lena also used to be a hair stylist and makeup artist, and as a proud vegan she usually tries to use vegan makeup instead of the regular brands you can find anywhere, saying one of her favorite brands is Kat Von D as she’s a vegan artist and all her makeup line is vegan as well. However, despite working with makeup, she truly believes charisma and kindness are what really attract her in people, saying that’s the true beauty in everyone. Furthermore, she also thinks there’s too much judgement or bias based on how a person looks nowadays, saying she doesn’t reply and she deletes all types of unnecessary comments such as “you’re too skinny”, “you have too many tattoos” and so on from her social media, complementing by saying we all punish ourselves too much already inside our minds to allow strangers to do the same for no reason.
Regarding veganism and her view of what’s happening to our environment, our skillful vocalist said she decided to become a vegan to see how she would feel, how much that would impact her health and her body, realizing she started to have a lot more energy on tour after adapting her eating habits around three years ago. Hence, you can notice the impact of her vegan lifestyle in the music by Infected Rain, with songs like the amazing The Earth Mantra beautifully (and darkly) representing everything that’s wrong with mankind in terms of all the wicked things we are doing to our planet. Despite not considering herself a true environmentalist, Lena is trying to be sensitive about nature, about animals and plants, and being more aware of her surroundings and how her actions impact everything and everyone in her life. Although a lot of people are trying hard to change their habits to have a minimal impact on our planet, Lena still thinks that’s not enough, that the current situation is extremely bad and that unfortunately it will take decades for the human race to change. If you’re also trying to make the world a better place you’ll certainly love the official video for The Earth Mantra, where Lena “interacts” with different bugs and other animals most people are not comfortable dealing with. “All the animals were real. I was very gentle with them. The owner of them was there, telling me how to hold those animals so no harm was done. I’m not scared of any bugs or anything. It’s actually a problem because I’m not afraid and I want to pet them and I want to touch them. So no, I’m not afraid,” commented the dauntless Lena.
Lastly, as also mentioned in the beginning of this tribute to Lena, her life is like an open book online, and let’s say she’s very proud of not being afraid of sharing all aspects of her life with her family, friends and fans worldwide. One of the main places where you can know everything about Lena is her official YouTube channel curiously titled BANANAS (as well as her own Patreon page), where you’ll find pretty much anything about her life, her hobbies, her career, her tattoos and other nice-to-know details, including also some interviews and chats with artists the likes of Melissa Cross and CJ McMahon (Thy Art Is Murder), and with all videos being edited by one of her bandmates, guitarist Vidick. For instance, there’s a very interesting video of Lena talking about the origins of Infected Rain which you might find very entertaining and informative, showing how much she’s not only a fantastic singer, but also that she was born to be in the spotlight so natural and smooth her onscreen performance is, and that’s exactly how she wants her YouTube channel to be for the foreseeable future. “When I decided to have my own YouTube channel and I saw that the band is becoming more known around the world and people are curious about me as a person, I made myself one promise, and I’m just trying to stick with that, and that’s it. It’s just I’m always going to be myself, and if people are not gonna like what they see or what they hear, it’s not in my power to change anybody’s mind, and I will never try to do that,” said Lena, inviting us all to join her in her world of heavy music, veganism, tattoos, and of course, bananas.
“Reality is frustrating sometimes, music has become my escape. I want to help as many people as I can with my music. I want to touch people somewhere deep inside, try to end their fears and give them that escape that they always search for. Music saved my life, but when I started to sing is when my life acquired color.” – Lena Scissorhands
Playing dark, angry, philosophical and downright nihilistic Groove Metal, this UK-based outfit is ready to discuss everything that’s wrong in our society with their brand new EP.
Playing a dark, angry, philosophical and downright nihilistic fusion of Groove Metal, Metalcore and Melodic Death Metal since their inception in 2013, reflecting on some of the worst parts of today’s status quo and always targeting key political figures, nuclear annihilation and conscious degradation, Merseyside, England-based outfit Deified is unleashing upon humanity their third EP and fourth official album (taking into account their 2015 full-length opus Ascension), entitled Anthrobscene, following up on their critically acclaimed 2018 EP Inhuman Manifesto. A time capsule discussing modern times, Anthrobscene doesn’t hold back with its commentary on social media, the digital revolution, mental health, climate change, politics and more, showcasing all the talent and rage from frontman Jamie Hughes, guitarists Matthew Pike (who also produced, mixed and mastered the album) and Alistair Blackhall, bassist Tom Simm and drummer Jordan Stanley-Jones and, therefore, being highly recommended for admirers of the caustic metal blasted by renowned bands like Lamb Of God and Sylosis.
The cinematic intro Prelude heightens our senses for the acid Dark Desires, a visceral Lamb Of God-inspired tune where Jamie roars demonically accompanied by the razor-edged riffs by Matthew and Alistair, resulting in a high-speed dirty extravaganza overflowing madness and wrath, not to mention how Tom and Jordan give a lesson in groove with their respective bass and drums. Then it’s time to bang our heads to the strident and melodic Broken Matrix, a modern-day Melodic Death and Groove Metal for the masses showcasing an ass-kicking shredding and classic beats, providing Jamie all he needs to bark like a beast, whereas sounding like a stone crusher on drums Jordan dictates the rhythm in Enemies Within, while Jamie declaims the song’s austere lyrics and Matthew and Alistair once again demolish our minds with their unrelenting guitars, all spiced up by Tom’s rumbling bass lines.
Following such electrifying display of modern metal music, a brief, futuristic Intermission sets the stage for Deified to kill once again in the frantic and sharper-than-a-knife Apotheosis/Rebirth, where the entire band sounds furious and vile from start to finish, with Jamie taking the lead with his maniacal vocals while Tom and Jordan make the earth tremble with their avalanche of low-tuned and thunderous sounds. The second to last blast of Deified’s well-balanced music comes in the form of Blood Under the Bridge, where the band’s stringed trio is on absolute fire with their riffage and thunderous bass jabs, sounding absolutely perfect for headbanging nonstop or crushing your skull into the pit, consequently keeping the album at a high level of adrenaline, before the closing song An Ode to Armageddon comes ripping with its epic start and its explosion of fulminating Groove Metal, or in other words, it’s an instrumental outro showcasing crisp riffs, piercing solos and endless stamina flowing from its bass and drums for our total delight.
In a nutshell, it’s impressive how dynamic, versatile and meaningful Deified were able to sound in only 28 minutes of music in Anthrobscene, proving how skillful the band is and why they’ve been on a roll since they started back in 2013, having already being crowned the winners of Bloodstock M2TM in 2015 and having already toured with iconic bands the likes of Cattle Decapitation, Exodus, Incite and Krysthla. Hence, don’t forget to show the guys from Deified your support by following them on Facebook and on Instagram, to subscribe to their YouTube channel and, above all, to grab your copy of their brand new EP from their own BandCamp page or from Apple Music. Anthrobscene is about everything we fear the most, and at the same time about everything we can’t live without, showing how rotten our minds are and, of course, how heavy music is yet again one of the best ways to represent all that’s wrong with the society we live in, and we must thank the guys from Deified for offering us metalheads such high quality and honest music with each and every single one of their albums.
Best moments of the album: Dark Desires and Apotheosis/Rebirth.
Worst moments of the album: None.
Released in 2020 Independent
Track listing 1. Prelude 1:01
2. Dark Desires 4:33
3. Broken Matrix 4:05
4. Enemies Within 3:49
5. Intermission 0:48
6. Apotheosis/Rebirth 5:18
7. Blood Under the Bridge 5:40
8. An Ode to Armageddon 3:04
Band members Jamie Hughes – vocals
Matthew Pike – guitars
Alistair Blackhall – guitars
Tom Simm – bass
Jordan Stanley-Jones – drums
Bang your head to the debut EP by an Australian one-man band with a huge focus on artistic expressionism, animal rights, veganism and the inevitability of the planet’s decline.
The name Klendathu, which means means “triangular” in the Zulu language, is the homeworld of the creatures known as the Arachnids from the 1997 cult movie Starship Troopers, while the expression “ad nauseam” is a Latin term for argument or other discussion that has continued to the point of nausea. However, when you put those two together the result is a Melbourne, Australia-based Blackened Death Metal/Dark Metal one-man project entitled Klendathu, formed in the beginning of 2020 by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Scott Masson, the lead singer for Metalcore/Deathcore act He Who Seeks Vengeance and more recently for Death Metal band Apocalyptian, both already reviewed at The Headbanging Moose. With a huge focus on artistic expressionism and with its lyrical content inspired by our ecological footprint, environmental issues, animal rights, veganism and the inevitability of the planet’s decline, the project’s debut EP Ad Nauseam will surely please fans of the music by Behemoth, Gorgoroth, Cannibal Corpse, Sylosis, Six Feet Under and Sepultura, among many others, while at the same time sending a strong message to everyone who still thinks our decaying world is doing just fine.
Scott, who’s by the way a very proud vegan and animal rights activist and environmentalist, has already hinted at that theme in his previous records with He Who Seeks Vengeance (They Will Speak Of The Ghosts That We Became, released in 2019) and Apocalyptian (Citizens Of The Apocalypse, released earlier this year), but it’s with Klendathu that Scott finally has all the freedom to be himself and express how he feels about the current state of things. In addition, just to give you an idea of how personal the album is, everything in the album was recorded by Scott himself, with the exception of the mixing part which was done by an electronic producer named Kibosh, and the final result is indeed very personal, heavy and dark.
An ominous intro grows in intensity until dark and damned sounds invade our senses in Denying The Birth, where Scott fires Doom Metal-inspired riffs and infernal blast beats while screaming like a rabid beast, reminding me of old school Behemoth with some phantasmagorical background elements to add an extra kick to it. Then once again demolishing everything and everyone with his insane beats and riffage, Scott vociferates and barks nonstop in Anger Awakening, presenting hints of the Thrash and Groove Metal by Sepultura from their Roots-era while keeping Klendathu’s core obscurity intact, followed by Bargaining The New Revelation, the most vicious and devastating of all songs, with Scott doing a great job with his harsh roars and thunderous bass and drums, therefore generating a reverberating sound that will crush your skull mercilessly, all spiced up by teen activist Greta Thunberg’s famous one-liner “How dare you!” and other parts of her speech during the UN climate summit in New York on September 23, 2019. After such bold and dense tune, Scott adds nuances of devilish Blackened Doom to his already scorching sonority in The Prelude Depression, where you can easily feel all the anguish and hatred flowing from his demented screams while the song’s keys and piano notes give the overall result a touch of finesse. And last but not least, more groovy and enraged sounds permeate the air in Accepting The End, with Scott going full Death Metal on vocals and firing crisp guitar riffs and solos. Moreover, its modern-day Black Metal-like drums are the ultimate proof that this incendiary song couldn’t have sounded more austere than what it already is.
You can follow Scoot and his very interesting Klendathu on Facebook, showing your appreciation not only for his music but also for his fight for animal rights and his efforts against all environmental issues we’ve been facing in the past few decades, and of course purchase his debut opus Ad Nauseam directly from his BandCamp page, as well as from Apple Music and from Amazon, or stream the EP in full on YouTube and on Spotify. In the end, as long as you bang your head to Klendathu’s flammable music while doing your part in trying to make this world a better place, I’m sure guys like Scott will feel utterly inspired to keep crafting meaningful heavy music for many years to come. That, of course, if the world as we know it doesn’t come to an end first.
Best moments of the album: Bargaining The New Revelation and Accepting The End.
Worst moments of the album: None.
Released in 2020 Independent
Track listing 1. Denying The Birth 6:19
2. Anger Awakening 4:52
3. Bargaining The New Revelation 5:27
4. The Prelude Depression 5:52
5. Accepting The End 5:02
Band members Scott Masson – vocals, all instruments
It’s time to listen to what these four (un)dead men from Orlando, Florida have to say in their thrilling new opus.
Three years after the release of the excellent The Sin and the Sentence, the unrelenting Matt Heafy on lead vocals and guitar, Corey Beaulieu on guitar and backing vocals, Paolo Gregoletto on bass guitar and backing vocals, and Alex Bent on drums and percussion, collectively known as Orlando, Florida-based Heavy Metal unity Trivium, return with another round of their always cohesive and breathtaking heavy music in What The Dead Men Say, the ninth studio album and another awesome addition to their undisputed career. Recorded at Studio 606 West in Northridge, Los Angeles, California, engineered, mixed and produced by Josh Wilbur, and mastered by Ted Jensen, What The Dead Men Say brings forward a myriad of styles and sounds that will please fans of all phases of the band, from Melodic Death Metal to Progressive Metal, Black Metal, Thrash Metal and Deathcore. “We’ve found a really great place to exist in this world. We love Melodic Death Metal, we love Death and Black Metal, and we love Hardcore. What the Dead Men Say is everything we do on one record,” commented Matt about their newborn spawn.
Furthermore, like The Sin and the Sentence, the lyrical content on What The Dead Men Say was inspired by modern aspects of life, with the album’s title being taken from a science fiction novella of the same name written by American writer Philip K. Dick, first published in Worlds of Tomorrow magazine in June 1964. For instance, “Catastrophist” deals with the theme of humanity in a crisis, “Amongst the Shadows & the Stones” is about the horrors of war, “The Defiant” was inspired by R. Kelly’s documentary and abuse-enabling, “Bending the Arc to Fear” talks about the surveillance aspect of modern society, and so on, with the closing song “The Ones We Leave Behind” being about “running over” people to succeed in life, delivering a powerful message and portraying a whole new meaning in the wake of the 2019–2020 COVID-19 pandemic. With that said, it was more than obvious that the fusion of a precise and powerful music with meaningful lyrics would result in another future classic by Trivium, leaving us eager for more of their always-evolving and never-repetitive music in the years yet to come.
As soon as you hit play, the cinematic instrumental intro IX (a clear reference to the fact that What The Dead Men Say is their ninth full-length album) sets the stage for Matt & Co. to kick some ass with the title-track What the Dead Men Say, where Alex begins crushing his drums with tons of precision and fury accompanied by the scorching riffs by Matt and Corey. Bringing elements from the Progressive and Groove Metal by bands like Lamb Of God added to their core musicality, this is indeed an excellent way to start their new opus, followed by Catastrophist, one of the previously released singles of the album, keeping the groove and electricity flowing from start to finish. Moreover, its razor-edged riffs remind me of some of their compositions from their 2013 album Vengeance Falls, while Paolo makes the earth tremble with his sick bass jabs.
Then it’s time to go absolutely mental to the sound of Amongst the Shadows & the Stones, by far my favorite of all songs, presenting their trademark riffage and solos, intricate beats, tons of breaks and variations and an endless amount of violence in a hybrid of Groove, Heavy and Thrash Metal, with Matt rabidly roaring the song’s lyrics (“Bloodied corpses, broken bones reveal / A throng of clashes crushed, our nightmare sealed / Amongst the shadows and the stones”), whereas the semi-ballad Bleed Into Me, despite the solidness of the instrumental pieces (in special Paolo’s somber bass lines), doesn’t really click and falls flat after a while, but there’s nothing to worry about as this is the only low (or maybe I should say less intense) point of the entire album. And back to their usual high-octane mode the quartet fires the also amazing The Defiant, showcasing Iron Maiden-inspired guitars walking hand in hand with the vicious beats by Alex while at the same time presenting a great balance between Matt’s clean vocals and harsh screams. As a matter of fact, could this be an “alternate” version or a sequel to their classic “The Deceived” due to the sonic similarity between both songs? That’s a question only Matt, Corey, Paolo and Alex can answer, of course.
In the top-of-the-line Sickness Unto You a mellow and melancholic start gradually morphs into a violent metal feast by Trivium, with sheer rage flowing form Matt’s vocals while he and Corey demolish our ears with their razor-edged riffs, both supported by the always thunderous bass by Paolo, whereas Scattering the Ashes can be considered a good example of how diverse their new album is by blending the music from Silence In The Snow with In Waves, once again presenting a solid instrumental and spot-on backing vocals overflowing pure anguish. Then we’re treated to more of their always cryptic lyrics (“A strain of vigilance / Deep roots that all connect / We wait so diligent / Watching you / Watching you”) in Bending the Arc to Fear, starting in a Black and Thrash Metal-ish vibe and sounding perfect for slamming into the pit to the sound of the bestial drums by Alex. On a side note, I personally love the strident and metallic sound of their stringed axes throughout the entire album, enhanced by its crisp and polished overall production. Lastly, closing the album the quartet offers us all the melodic and vibrant The Ones We Left Behind, featuring the rumbling bass by Paolo accompanied by the stunning beats and fills by Alex while Matt and Corey give a lesson in riffs and feeling, concluding the album in a powerful and effective manner.
After listening to What The Dead Men Say in its entirety for a few times, you’ll quickly notice how not only the band’s technique and professionalism, but also their synchronicity, have been growing stronger and stronger through the years, pointing to an even brighter future for Matt and his bandmates in a near future and, therefore, positioning Trivium as one of the driving forces of modern-day metal music, never sounding tiresome nor predictable at all with each one of their releases. Hence, go check what the boys are up to on Facebook and on Instagram (especially because they’re all very active users of most social media platforms), subscribe to their YouTube channel, and above all that, grab your copy of such entertaining album from the Warner Music webstore or click HERE for all locations where you can buy or stream the album (and if you have some extra money go for the Japanese Edition of the album, as it contains two very special acoustic versions for the songs “Bleed Into Me” and “Scattering the Ashes”), raising your horns, banging your head and listening to what the (un)dead men from Trivium have to say through their unparalleled music.
Best moments of the album: Amongst the Shadows & the Stones, The Defiant, Sickness Unto You and The Ones We Left Behind.
Worst moments of the album:Bleed Into Me.
Released in 2020 Roadrunner Records
Track listing 1. IX 1:59
2. What the Dead Men Say 4:45
3. Catastrophist 6:28
4. Amongst the Shadows & the Stones 5:40
5. Bleed Into Me 3:49
6. The Defiant 4:29
7. Sickness Unto You 6:14
8. Scattering the Ashes 3:25
9. Bending the Arc to Fear 4:46
10. The Ones We Left Behind 4:57
Japanese Edition bonus tracks 11. Bleed Into Me (Acoustic version) 3:45
12. Scattering the Ashes (Acoustic version) 3:04
Band members Matt Heafy – lead vocals, guitar
Corey Beaulieu – guitar, backing vocals
Paolo Gregoletto – bass guitar, backing vocals
Alex Bent – drums, percussion
Behold the rise of one of the most promising acts of the current French underground scene armed with their new album of undisputed Deathcore.
Forged in the fires of Lyon, France in 2017, Thrash/Deathcore outfit Prismeria is back in action with their first full-length album Requiem, following up on the very positive feedback received for their debut effort, the 2018 EP Lost Individual Thoughts. Bringing forth a fusion of the different influences of each one of its five members, ranging from Thrash and Death Metal to more modern sounds such as Deathcore, the band comprised of frontman Cyril Weinbrenner, guitarists Benjamin Lamy and Leny Garcia, bassist Alexandre Gros and drummer Nicolas Voydeville put a lot of effort and heart into the creation of Requiem, resulting in nine original and electrifying songs that perfectly represent all the modernity and rage proposed by the band. Produced by Convulsound Productions, Requiem also showcases a crystal clear sound quality which enhances the band’s punch considerably, again proving why they’ve been recruited for so many gigs throughout France since their inception, including opening for renowned acts like Nervosa and Nervecell.
The opening track North is frantic and furious form the very first second, or in other words, a thrashing Deathcore tune where Cyril begins his growling attack accompanied by the bestial beats by Nicolas, resulting in an amazing welcome card by the quintet to newcomers to their metal realm. Then we have Native Spirit and its rebellious lyrics (“Bang your fucking head / The battalion of mad / Crossing the swamp of the fetish / Bringing the cornerstone from the underground / The shrine of their incarnate God, was set… to become”), while Benjamin and Leny bring forward a mix of insanity, melody and industrialized sound through their wicked guitars, followed by The Ceremony, a headbanging, galloping tune by Prismeria where Alexandre adds thunder and groove to the musicality with his metallic bass while Cyril keeps barking and growling like a beast.
Blending their Deathcore essence with Progressive and Groove Metal the band fires the high-octane and violent Irkalla, with its razor-edged guitar riffs walking hand in hand with Nicolas’ blast beats and fills in a lesson in modern metal music; whereas Life is an instrumental extravaganza where the band accelerates the speed and invites us all to slam into the pit together with them, showcasing classic, incendiary riffs that live up to the legacy of Metalcore and also reminding me of the sonority blasted by Danish act Xenoblight. And Nicolas kicks things off in the high-speed Passenger with his insane drums before Benjamin and Leny come crushing our heads with their sick guitars, also presenting groovy passage where we have the pleasure of listening to the band uncompromisingly jamming, while Cyril darkly vociferates the song’s cryptic words (“Born in the nuclear explosion / Raised as nothing from the nothing / Your time here is just a perception / Stand up right now and act like a king”).
Deep Into Dementia sounds and feels like a ritualistic call to arms by Prismeria, displaying a scorching riffage by the band’s guitar duo and of course endless aggressiveness flowing from Cyril’s demented roars in an awesome feast of Metalcore infused with Thrash Metal nuances. After such demolishing song it’s time for Low Hopes of Men, a serene instrumental bridge featuring crisp acoustic guitars setting the stage for The Groovy Snake, even more progressive than its predecessors with both Benjamin and Leny firing sheer dementia through their riffs while Nicolas’ beats bring forward a huge amount of intricacy, ending the album on a dense and visceral way just the way we like it in Thrash, Death and Metalcore.
You can take a full and very detailed listen at Requiem on Spotify, but of course in order to show your support to those French metallers and to properly bang your head to their modern and vibrant Deathcore you should definitely purchase the album from their own BandCamp or Big Cartel, as well as from Amazon. In addition, keep up to date with all things Prismeria by following them on Facebook and on Instagram, and by subscribing to their official YouTube channel, witnessing the rise of one of the most promising acts of the current French underground scene, and with Requiem being another solid step forward in their musical journey.
Best moments of the album: North, Irkalla and Passenger.
Worst moments of the album: None.
Released in 2020 Independent
Track listing 1. North 4:58
2. Native Spirit 3:19
3. The Ceremony 3:13
4. Irkalla 3:09
5. Life (Instrumental) 3:46
6. Passenger 4:38
7. Deep Into Dementia 3:32
8. Low Hopes of Men (Instrumental) 4:16
9. The Groovy Snake 4:12
Band members
Cyril Weinbrenner – vocals
Benjamin Lamy – guitars
Leny Garcia – guitars
Alexandre Gros – bass
Nicolas Voydeville – drums
A few months after leaving her previous band MartYrium due to personal issues with the other band members, Maltese metal goddess Mikaela Attard is unleashing upon humanity under her newborn Metalcore solo project Mikaela her debut opus entitled Nocturne In Red, featuring guitarist and bassist Kyle Farrugia (from Maltese Active Metal band Align the Tide) and drummer Marco Minnemann as her loyal henchmen throughout the entire album. Written and produced by Mikaela herself, and mixed and mastered by Tue Madsen at Antfarm Studio, the pivotal concept behind Nocturne In Red highlights subjects surrounding personal experiences and states of the mind, but according to Mikaela it is up to the listener and viewer to perceive them on how it’s relative to their lives. Not only that, the album also provides an incendiary mixture of Metalcore, Deathcore, Progressive and Nu Metal, and even nuances of Black and Death Metal, all spiced up by Miakela’s native language Maltese carefully added to some of the tracks from the album, being therefore recommended for fans of the music by Pantera, Godsmack, Mastodon and Lamb Of God, among several others.
Mikaela’s musical journey to hell and back can be appreciated in its entirety on Spotify and on Deezer, but of course you should purchase a copy of such amazing album of modern-day Metalcore from her own webstore, from Apple Music or from Amazon, also showing your support to one of Malta’s most prominent names in metal music by following her on Facebook and on Instagram, and by subscribing to her YouTube channel for more of her darkly enchanting official videos. Nocturne In Red is a very personal album by Mikaela that will undoubtedly please all fans of Metalcore, Deathcore and all related styles, showing us all the darkest side of such talented artist while at the same time adding the charming Republic of Malta to the worldwide map of contemporary metal music.
THE HEADBANGING MOOSE 